Black Women Have It Going On

Good morning from Colorado, where the peaks are tall and the tomb is empty! Today is Sunday, and my faith is secured in Christ Jesus! Thanks for stopping by my blog, where we discuss life, faith, and the long walk toward healing.

In seminary, I learned a profound truth that changed the way I look at my family tree: we are all like sheep. We are prone to wander, we are easily fooled, and eventually, we all stumble. This includes the “shepherds” in our lives—our parents.

My mother was an amazing woman who loved her children fiercely, but she was a shepherd operating on empty. When you are working two 8-hour jobs and bleeding out 16 hours a day, you don’t always lead with kindness; you lead with survival. For her, “responsibility” wasn’t taught with a gentle hand; it was driven home with whippings until I moved the way she wanted me to behave.

She made mistakes she didn’t fully understand, and as a child, I couldn’t grasp the “why” behind the weight. But as I write my genealogical book, I am learning that even shepherds trip in the dark. On this Sunday, we recognize that the blurry reality of her choices wasn’t a lack of love—it was a lack of light. She was a stumbling sheep trying to lead a flock through a storm. When we realize our parents were just “sheep in shepherds’ clothing,” we can finally stop bleeding from the wounds they left and start walking in the grace they couldn’t give.

The Takeaway for Us

• The Humanity of the Leader: One realizes that parents are not superheroes; they are humans susceptible to exhaustion and “backward thinking.” Recognizing their “stumble” allows the adult child to stop taking the past personally.
• Grace for the Grind: When a soul is in “survival mode,” it often loses the ability to be tender. Understanding the pressure of the “16-hour Gethsemane” moments provides the bridge to forgiveness.
• The Shift in Perspective: The “Little Shepherd” of yesterday becomes the “Historian” of today, choosing to see the scars as evidence of a struggle rather than a lack of affection.

Community Challenge

Have you ever looked back at a parent’s “stumble” and realized they were just as exhausted and “uninformed” as you were? How does viewing your parents as “stumbling sheep” help you release the weight of the whippings they gave you?

Scripture & Prayer

• Scripture: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way…” — Isaiah 53:6 (KJV)
• Prayer: Father, we thank You for the grace that covers every stumbling sheep. We ask for healing for the children who felt the sting of a shepherd’s mistake. Help us to see our parents through Your eyes of mercy, realizing that they were often doing the best they could with the little they had. Amen.

The Spiritual Seal

Remember: You are not defined by the years the locusts have eaten, but by the new thing God is doing in your life today. The tomb is empty, and your story is rising. See you Monday!